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Very good device specially for students and people who need to print thing just their own use.

I bought this printer two years ago because I had another one in home that has expensive cartridges and I need to print things very often. I'm attending a university and I usually print articles, school papers, researches, and even entire books. When I bought this device the first thing I observed was the price. Very cheap! This is a really cheap printer and has really cheap cartridges! So I bought it and started using it. It's very easy to install and it's software is very easy to deal. HP also has a help center and it's also very easy to use. Another good aspect is it's very economic and has a good quality print. You can use the economical mode to print things without any problems, you'll get a good impression. Even the pictures are good using this mode. And using your printer configured in this economical mode you can print up 300 pages with one single cartridge! And other good aspect is: if you use just the black cartridge and it ends you can keep printing using the colored one or you can trade just the black one, options I didn't have with my old printer. It's very good and ideal for students and people who need to print things for their use often. Of course it has it's problems, for example if you need to print documents I highly recommed you to use a laser printer because it has high quality and the document you stay for much more time. But if you need just to print things for you or to print documents not so often and that don't need to be kept for a long time (like school works) you can use the normal or the better mode and it will fit! It's a very good device, easy to operate, cheap, and cheap to keep.

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On balance this is a worthwhile budget printer.

I were on the lookout for a reasonably cheap printer for my desktop PC, but I also wanted something that wasn't too basic either. I came across the HP Deskjet D1560 at a cost of £25 online and felt it matched my needs.

The D1560 is a compact little printer. The printer folds out for use and so is compact enough for storage and is ideal for those that don't get a great deal of use from their printer, as it doesn't require much space when not in use. The case of the printer is quite basic and it wouldn't be wrong in saying it looks like a cheap printer. There are two fold-out trays where the paper enters and exits the printer. I could have paid a little bit more for a jet black Samsung printer, for example, but I wanted something simple and didn't care too much about looks. If you are a heavy user you may find it is more than the looks that will put you off, more of that later.

Setting the printer up to my desktop PC was effortless. Simply connecting the printer to the power and then the PC via a USB cable there will be an automatic driver installation. Once the installation is complete you are ready to print, it really is very simple indeed! You could say this makes it very attractive to novices, but to be fair a lot of printers these days are very easy to set up.

The printer comes complete with two ink cartridges, a black and a tricolour one. These are also very easy to install and remove. The printer will indicate to you during the printing process if the ink is low and specify which cartridge needs changing, so it really couldn't be any easier. The area where this printer excels is its ability to print high quality photo printing. The 'fine' resolution gives 4800 x 1200 DPI (dots per inch) which is respectable for such an inexpensive printer. In terms of its ability to print promptly and to a high standard really is a plus-point with the D1560 and seeing the results you wouldn't guess this is a £25 printer. For those that care to know, 'Mono' prints at upto 18 pages per minute, whilst 18 ppm is achievable in colour.

Ink cartridge cost can be an issue for some, and often it is cheaper to buy a whole new printer than a set of branded cartridges. Fortunately supermarkets do sell a set of '21' and '22' for around the £10 mark, so they are reasonably priced. HP cartridges are numbered, and each printer is compatible with certain numbers.

I will now come back to heavy users. If you are a heavy user of such a printer then it is worth knowing that whilst the cartridges are affordable and the print quality is very good, high quality images really do sap the ink quickly. If you regularly print photo quality images then you will find yourself buying replacement cartridges quite regularly, so that is a consideration for heavy print users.

Overall HP have got a budget Deskjet printer to be proud of. This compact printer really does pack quite a punch considering its cost. If you are a light print user then consider the D1560.

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A sturdy and reliable printer for family use, which is compact and easy to use

A few years ago I was given a £20 Argos voucher in a competition at work. I never shop in Argos normally, but decided to put it towards a new printer. I bought the HP Deskjet D1560 based solely on it's price - £29.99 - which meant I only had to pay £9.99 for it. And at that price I was happy.

But over the years I've come to absolutely love this little printer, for so much more than it's affordability. Here's my lowdown -

- Looks -

The HP Deskjet D1560 is a compact printer which folds out (or in, depending on how you look at it). It has a grey ridged 'shell' and two fold out trays for the paper. It looks fairly standard in this grey and beige look, and not as modern as some of the newer piano black all in ones you can get now. But it's inoffensive, and it fits in well with my computer. It's so compact, in fact (14.1cm high x 42.2cm wide and 26cm deep) and light at 1.95kg, that I actually store it away and bring it out only when I want to print something. It's perfect for the casual printer such as myself.

- Setup -

A doddle. Simply plug in the power and USB cables and away you go (after the very simple printer driver installation, which works with both Mac and PC).

The printer comes with two cartridges (a tricolour and a black) and it is very easy to install and replace these (the printer driver program will tell you when the ink is low). Just lift and click. No mess or fuss.

- Printing -

Again, it's fuss free. You can print on a variety of sizes of paper from the smaller A6 to A4 and envelopes too, but I stick to A4 as most people tend to. There are a variety of print styles from B&W, greyscale and colour, in a range of qualities from draft to fine (4800 x 1200 dots per inch for those who need to know!). Photo printing is very good quality (certainly for the average user) whether on regular paper or photo paper. Certainly, I don't have a problem with the framed printed pictures that I have. The printed word is fine and accurate, and border printing is easy, too. Overall I cannot say a bad word about using this printer in the day to day - the ease of use and quality of print for the price is second to none.

Printing is fast, too, with up to 18 pages per minute in mono (black and white / greyscale) and 12 in colour. More than fast enough for me, but obviously not on par with more expensive inkjets and laser printers used in offices.

The printer also prints on iron-on transfers, card, acetate and labels.

- Peripheral Cost -

HP ink cartridges are numbered - this model uses the 21 and 22 which can be bought for a combined cost of around £17. You can if you prefer use a compatible, I have used a compatible set from Asda at a cost of £10 which is much better for me given the initial cost of the printer. As a casual printer, I can get six months or more out of a set of cartridges.

- My Own Personal Use -

I use my printer sporadically but goodness me has it been a godsend when I've needed it. From printing pictures of my new baby girl for my extended family to see, to printing contracts for the mortgage, factsheets for college, and spreadsheets for the office, it has provided nothing but quality prints with no hassle whatsoever. I cannot fault it.

- Recommend? -

Without a doubt. Even though there are more advanced printers out there you can still pick up the HP D1560 at around £30 with ink and at that price it's well worth it. It's a trustworthy family printer suitable for casual users, students, and small home offices. Obviously it's not a printer I'd recommend to a business as it isn't up to fast economical printing but for me it's exactly what I need. I'm not a technical whizz, and yet the setup of this printer was an absolute joy, as is using it when I do. I've never had a moment's problem with it and I'd happily recommend it to anyone looking for a decent, low cost, high quality compact printer. I will give it four out of five - the official HP cartridges are a bit pricey, thank goodness for compatibles, but as an all rounder you'd be hard pushed to find a better printer for the price. Well done HP.

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A reliable, good quality home printer.

I got married last August and am a huge advocate of doing stuff yourself rather than paying over inflated prices for things so when it came to wedding stationery I knew that I wanted to make my own menus, invites, rsvp cards, favours and orders of service. I didn't have a working printer at the time so set about finding one which would be a good make, easy to use but not too expensive. I found this HP printer in Morrisons costing less than £30 so I promptly bought one, having had HP printers in the past I felt confident in the brand.

The printer comes with two ink cartridges, a black one and a colour one, to start you off although they are only 'starter' cartridges and will not last for as many copies as a regular cartridge so I also bought Morrisons own cartridges which would fit this printer.

In the box were the printer, power cable and USB cable. Most computer peripherals now (in fact probably all!) use USB connections and it makes it so easy to plug the printer into the computer or in my case, laptop, and get going. The printer is beautifully compact. The off white coloured front as seen in the picture lifts up to allow the paper feed tray to flap down and it also exposes the cartridges for when the time comes to insert or change the cartridges. The paper feed tray is adjustable for width and allows for different sizes of paper to be inserted and it will also successfully print on thicker paper, card and envelopes. The printer, when the paper feed tray is folded back up, can be stored very easily as it is so compact. We keep ours in a drawer in the living room along with a host of other things like books, computer games and other guff so the printer certainly doesn't take up lots of space. It's very light weight too, weighing in at about 2kg so it isn't difficult to move around at all, it's a very portable printer if you're moving it from different rooms in your house for example. According to the stats, it does up to 4800 dpi for high quality prints. I don't know much about that kind of thing but I do know that it prints clearly and in good detail.

I was very impressed with the speed of the printer. It is a deskjet printer and so not as speedy as a laser jet but nonetheless, it made reasonable short work of my wedding stationery. I didn't experience any paper jams or the paper feed taking the paper in at a wonky angle or anything like that, it was very straight forward to use and although it may not be a professional quality printer, I certainly found the quality of the printing was excellent and was incredibly pleased with the price and the quality of my wedding stationery!

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A great value basic printer for your home which does exactly what it says on the tin.

We recently found that we could really do with a printer at home, we had had one years ago but used it so infrequently that eventually we ended up donating it to a relative who was setting up a small business. We had coped quite happily without one and generally just printed anything we might need at work (naughty!) but increasingly, as I was drafting my masters dissertation at home, it became apparent that having one to hand would actually be quite handy.

We literally wanted a very basic and easy to use model and this seemed to tick all the boxes, also it was exceptionally cheap, we picked ours up in the Maplin sale for around £18 which seemed like a bargain, especially as it contained two (admittedly not full size) cartridges so we could use it straight away. Amazingly, I see you can now get it for around £15 through various online retailers.

So, the set up was very simple, it comes with the requisite usb connections and power supply (this is not a wi-fi printer and I would not expect it to be at the price). You do need to plug it into the computer in order to use it, I use a laptop so this is a little bit of an ordeal but the printer is very small and very nice to look at and therefore it sits very nicely under the small table which my laptop lives on when its not on my lap, I just keep the USB handy to enable me to hook it up quickly when I need to.

The HP software was quick and easy to install and I have had no problems with it, it is great to note that updates for the software will automatically be searched for by the program and you can download the same at your leisure.

Printing then - well its sharp, clear and actually pretty good quality, in fact it is better than we need it to be, pictures printed are very good quality indeed although it is fairly slow. In general this is not a problem for us because we usually only print word documents or confirmations of bookings.

If you do need to print a large and graphic document this is where you might come unstuck with this printer a little. Partly because it is indeed very slow and also because it absolutely guzzles colour ink and these can be very expensive to replace (around £15 per cartridge unless you take them to a refilling place).

Personally we just do not use it for such printing and it does what we need to do perfectly fine. Usefully there is a small icon which appears when you are printing which tells you how much ink is left in each cartridge, ours has so far used the small cartridge provided at the time of sale and also is halfway through a full size cartridge. On the black ink it does not seem so thirsty.

This low priced printer is ideal for anyone who needs a good quality and reliable printer for occasional use at home. It is easy to use, has good supportive software and looks very aesthetically pleasing to boot. In my opinion this does exactly what it says on the tin and does it well for a very reasonable price.

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Top notch printer but ink hungry and expensive refills unless you refill yourself

I bought the HP Deskjet D1560 from Amazon when it was £25 and at the time of writing this review it is around £15.

In my opinion cheap printers are often a false economy, consumers get sold on the cheapness of the printer itself when one lot of replacement black & colour ink cartrtidges can cost the same and in many cases more than the printer itself and that is certainly the case here.

I personally went for the D1560 because it was the cheapest and smallest (office space is limited) and was Vista compatible but also because I bought a CISS (Continous ink supply system for the uninitiated). The 2 black & colour carts that come with your purchase hold about one fifth the amount of ink as a replacement cartridge so do not be shocked when your ink needs replacing so quickly.

I use this printer for my paperwork and even the replacement inks (costing around £15 themselves) did not last long.

The tray can hold 80 sheets but I found with no more than 20 occassionally the paper can get snagged so would suggest less is stored in the tray. Print quality is good even of the printing time is a little slow.

Overall this is a good printer for an exceptional price, so why only 3 stars you may ask? If you do not have a CISS system which replaces your ink automatically ( this cost me £35) or know how to refill used cartridges yourself you will be finding this printer an ink hungry guzzler and a totally false economy as mentioned before.

If you have no problem filling your own cartridges or wish to make an additional purchase of a CISS system then you'll find this a top notch budget printer. I cannot fault it for the price.

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Who needs one hour printing shops when you've got this little baby

I tend to need to use a printer quite a lot during my average day at work, both from home and from the office, so I do go through quite a bit of ink, and some printers in fact.

I have used several printers during my time, some of them being 'All in one' units (printer/scanner and copier), with branded names such as Dell, Lexmark, Brother and others, but as I wanted to buy just a printer at a reasonable price I went on the hunt for just that.So when I came across this HP desktop printer in a well known shop I was amazed by it's size and it's subtle looks. But as the price in the well known shop was a little bit on the high side I was soon using the old 'Inter-web' to get myself yet another bargain, and I soon did just that.I found the same HP printer for almost half the price of the one in the well known shop and was soon ordering it, waiting only a few days for it to be delivered straight to my door.

Anyway, when it arrived I ripped into the packaging and began the connection to my Desktop, using the leads supplied, installing the drivers when required. With-in a matter of minutes the printer was up and running, ready for me to start printing, although the ink which came with the printer was not a full amount (for some reason), so I did have to get two new cartridges at the local PC shop, but they have lasted in the machine for an age up to now.

** Let us take a look at the technical bits of this machine...

It is a wired 'thermal' ink jet printer, being 422 by 260 by 14 mm in size and weighing in at a mere 2kg.It uses 2 ink cartridge - 1 black (HP21) and 1 colour (HP22), (magenta, yellow and cyan) The prints speed depends on the size and quality of the print wanted...For example... (based on A4 paper size, page per minute {ppm})

Best black-1200dpi is 0.8 ppm or best colour is 0.9 ppm (1200 dpi)Draft black is 18 ppm or colour draft is 12 ppmNormal black is 7 ppm or normal colour is 3 ppm

And for photographs...1 minute to print a draft photo and 2 minutes to print a 'best' photograph (10 by 15 cm)

I has a maximum resolution of... (dpi)Black and white are 1200 dpi by 1200 Colour 4800 by 1200

With a paper tray which can hold up to 80 sheets.

It can print in various methods, such as for Envelopes, labels, iron on transfers, cards and even the good old plain paper, as well as photo paper. It can take A4 (210 by 297), A5 (148 by 210), A6 (105 by 148), and others sizes, with the capability of customising the paper size being the minimum size of 80mm by 125mm to a maximum of 215mm by 356mm.

It has 1 Hi-Speed USB - 4 PIN USB Types B connection and can be used with most windows Operating systems, such as XP home, XP professional, 2000 professional and Windows Vista. It can also be used with Apple Mac systems later than OS X10.5

'For all you friends of the Earth people' its power consumption when being used is approximately 16 watts per hours, whilst on standby it is a mere 3 watts per hour.Although I do tend to turn it off at the plug when I have finished using it.

For an everyday home printer it is so simple to set up with the software being so easy to install onto your PC. Once up and running it is then as easy to use, giving you some brilliant results for a low low price.It look quite good as it sits on your desk, being a good size so as not to look imposing at all.The plastic body being mainly grey with a white top, the paper feeding tray looking a little fragile but being tougher than you think.The on/off button lies on the lower left of the unit, a little red light glowing when the printer is on.

When the original ink cartridges ran out, (lasting quite some time in fact) I was amazed as to how easy it was to replace them into the unit, (although I was not happy about the price of the new cartridges).

** For those interested in a quick briefing to installing the cartridges...

It was a simple matter of turning off the printer, opening the cover, waiting for the cartridges to settle into position and gently pushing down on it, then slide it out the old cartridge. Then it is a matter of sliding the new cartridge into position at a bit of an angle until it 'clicks' into place with a snapping sound, (this noise is normal apparently).Then it is a matter of aligning the cartridge using a test piece of paper and opening the 'toolbox' within the software, then follow the simple instruction.Sounds a little complicated but it is really as easy as sending a text message to your mates.

Once the new cartridges were in place I was pleased with the results once more, and the way I could manipulate the printing results from this cheap and cheerful printer.

I was also well pleased with the way it was able to print some brilliantly clear photographs within a matter of minutes, the finished results being something like that you get from your local Kodak one hour printing shop, although the paper quality is a big help in quality pictures.

As for 'smudgabilty', well, on 'normal' paper there is none at all, although on actual photograph print quality paper I would advise to leave the print for a few minutes for it to dry a little, especially with the darker colours like black. But once it is dry the results are well worth the wait.

In all, it is a quality printer with-in it price range and will give some nice result, possibly better than some of the more expensive models. The price for this nice sized little printer seems to hover between the £25.00 and £35.00 mark.

The only downfall is actually the cost of replacing the Ink Cartridges when they are empty as HP cartridges do tend to be a little on the pricey side, so it is a good job they do last quite some time for average printing work.

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suitable for your standard printing needs

I brought this Hewlett Packard printer just after new year after getting fed up with the university printing services. In that time it has certainly not let me down. The primary reason for purchase was the cost. On sale for twenty five pounds, it was a bargain and one of the cheapest, if not the cheapest printer around. Instillation was very swift and simple to accomplish. The printer is small in size making it ideal for use on a desk with limited space. The printing quality is perfectly acceptable in comparison to other much more expensive printers. The rate of print is however slightly slower than other printers so it can take a while to print of a document with many pages in. So far I have found that it does not drink to much ink and the compatible ink cartridges are reasonably priced.

I would recommend this printer for all your low budget,, standard printing needs.

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a perfect printer for the home

Bought this printer about 4 months ago, after refusing to pay nearly £50 to replace the inks in my canon mp150 printer anymore. The cannon m150 's only extra advantage to this printer was that it had a scanner . the HP 1560 printer is grey and white in colour is lightweight and compact making it the ideal printer for use at home for someone such as myself who just wants a printer to print out word document info from the internet and so on . I bought mine from ASDA for £29.99 They are still on sale there for that price. It can print up to 18 pages per minute , can print photo and documents has a paper tray that holds 80 sheets and connect easily to your computer via usb cable , on first inital use you need to load the disc that comes it after that it simply connect to laptop whenever you need a print out (or it can be left connected up to your computer whichever is your preference) looked around for a while comparing other printers for value ease of use and compactness and this one fits the bill Ater spending around £50 to replace inks in my previous computer the inks for this one cost me less than £20 yesterday using asda compatible inks quite a difference easyto replace the cartridges. I am very pleased with this printer would highly recommend it

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A printer that will serve your need keeping cost in mind.

Well definitely a low budget printer.I would like to thank HP to get this product at such a considerable rate to buy. The printer is good in printing both color and black ink images and documents.There are few benefits which i would like to share with you guys :1. Size: Well i like this printer because it is a small size printer which fits in any of the custom/ready made computer desks.I am sure you your find it handy too.2.Weight: The printer is a lot portable as compared to others.You you can even carry it in single hand.Its that light weight.3. Cartridges : This printer requires HP 21(Black) and HP 22(Color) cartridges.These cartridges can be purchased as a combo pack just around 30$ from HP outlet. Here you can have a choice there are two types of HP cartridges 21A and 21B which are black .But they have a huge cost difference. the cost of 21B is nearly half that of 21A.Now if you need more of black than the color and you want it cheap then may be 21B suits you best.The cartridges give approximately 190(Black) and 165(Color) prints per cartridge.Hence it is a lot affordable.4.Paper Jam : This an excellent option which i noticed in this printer.It has an opening from behind that allows us to remove any paper that gets stuck in there manually.In earlier printers of this range we needed to pull the stuck in paper.But this seems to be easy now.5.Warranty: The printer has a 1Year warranty.6.USB : The printer has a USB support hence its a lot easier to plug it in and start printing.So you end up purchasing a printer which is a lot cheaper and which serves all your needs for the time and also i hope it lasts long life.I said hope because everyone has his own style of handling stuff. I would suggest it as a best buy.